June 2014

… Ukraine, behind the barricades; Israel/Palestine, talks fail, can sanctions work? Latin America, all eyes to the left; Hungary’s turn to the Orient; Japan, islanders against nuclear; TTIP 7-page special report; World Cup, forgetting the fans; counting the cost of sleep; it ain’t what you say… and more…

It has looked like civil war in Ukraine, yet most Ukrainians don’t want any such thing, as shown by the 25 May election results. And pro-Russian separatists in the east mostly want to return to their old Soviet life.A saying usually misattributed to Trotsky, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you,” describes the Ukrainian conflict, which now has almost all the elements needed for a civil war: well-armed rival sides, opposing views of national history and destiny, and a (...)

The US, chief guarantor for the Israeli-Palestinian talks for decades, is so habitually and instinctually pro-Israel that it can’t understand that the Palestinians even have a viewpoint, let alone what it is.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign is, after a decade, persuading major economic forces and public figures to withdraw from investments or appearances in Israel as long as it denies Palestinian rights.

Rightwing parties in Latin America give themselves populist names, keep the manifesto rhetoric modest and talk of appealing to the street. But they aren’t winning many votes. Meanwhile business has learned to work with governments of the left.

The islanders of Iwaishima have protested against, and so far prevented, the construction of a new nuclear power station for three decades. And they’re still fighting, while Japan’s 54 existing reactors await their re-start after Fukushima.

Following Hungary’s April election, prime minister Viktor Orbán is in power for another term. The nationalist positions of his Fidesz party are compatible with those of the growing far-right party, Jobbik, which won 20% of the vote. And which dreams of the Orient.

There is a major legal business in corporate lawsuits against governments, seeking either a change in proposed legislation to suit corporate demands, or compensation. Under TTIP, European governments could face the same claims.

The TIPP negotiations are being conducted almost in secret, with governments and the European Parliament deliberately denied essential information. However, business lobbyists can access all areas, and do.